BHUBANESWAR l thursday l february 19, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late CITY EDITION Indians among students seeking compensation from 36 U.K. univs Around 500 Indians figure in a larger group of students seeking compensation for not receiving the level of education they paid for during Covid ‘Covid curbs affected quality of education’ Pre-class action suit letters sent While they paid for in-person teaching and access to university facilities like libraries and studios, their teaching was moved online and facilities were closed for lengthy periods during Covid, Student Group Claim, leading the action said. Fees for online degree courses in the UK are up to 50% less than in-person courses. Universities should have paid that difference, it said ■ ■ Pre-class action letters have been sent to 36 universities including Imperial College, LSE and King’s College London. Student Group Claim is inviting more students from 2020-21 year to join its action It comes as a confidential settlement was recently agreed by the University College London with about 6,000 of its students 20,000 international applicants are part of the class action suit CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Global investments, collaborations Further Opposition pour in at india A.I. Impact Summit slide expected in Microsoft, Google, Qualcomm and OpenAI line up to plug into India’s AI space R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi the India AI Impact Summit 2026 has seen major stakeholders lining up to announce their plans to invest in and build on India’s AI ecosystem. While global majors Qualcomm and Microsoft announced significant investment plans, OpenAI and NVIDIA outlined new partnerships to strengthen the ecosystem and build AI infrastructure. Google also announced the America-India Connect initiative, a subsea cable project aimed at enhancing data connectivity between the US, India and the Southern Hemisphere. Qualcomm said it would invest $150 million to support India’s rapidly expanding technology and AI startup ecosystem. The announcement coincided with Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon’s participation in the AI summit, which has now been extended by a day till February 21. Microsoft plans to invest $50 billion by the end of the 2014 ordinance Formal Maha order nullifies 5% Muslim reservation S u d h i r sur ya w a n sh i @ Mumbai The Maharashtra government has formally scrapped the 5% reservation for Muslims in government and semigover nment jobs and education. According to a government resolution (GR) issued by the state social justice department on Tuesday night, a 5% reservation was granted to socially and educationally backward Muslim groups under the Special Backward Category in 2014 through an ordinance. However, this ordinance was not converted into a law by passing it through both Houses of the state legislature, and therefore, it has lapsed automatically The government has . cancelled the earlier decisions and circulars from 2014 and stopped issuing caste and noncreamy layer certificates to Muslims in the Special Backward Category, the GR stated. The ordinance was issued by the Congress-led government of Prithviraj Chavan ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha and assembly elections, along with a 16% reservation to the Maratha community The BJP . came to power that year and the ordinance on Muslim reservation was not converted into law. The Congress on Wednesday accused the Devendra Fadnavis government of being against the welfare of minorities. Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad termed the decision as “harmful to democracy .” Former state Congress working committee member Naseem Khan said while the Congress-NCP government issued the ordinance in 2014, “the subsequent Devendra Fadnavis government did not take the process forward, and even after the Bombay High Court granted interim relief for 5 per cent educational reservation, its implementation was not ensured”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Google CEO Sundar Pichai in New Delhi | pti decade to expand AI access across the Global South. Vice-chair and President Brad Smith and Vicepresident and Chief Responsible AI Officer Natasha Crampton said urgent action is needed to prevent a widening AI divide from exacerbating global economic disparities. Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the America-India Connect initiative, a subsea cable project to improve data conn e c t iv i t y b e tween the US, India, and the broader Southern Hemisphere. The announcement followed his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “We believe India is going to have an extraordinary trajectory with AI, and we want to be a partner. To help, we have launched new America-India Connect subsea cable routes, building on our $15 billion invest- ment in India’s infrastructure, including a full-stack AI Hub in Vizag,” Pichai said. In addition, Google committed $30 million each for the Government Innovation Impact Challenge, aimed at supporting AI-powered gover nment-to-citizen solutions, and the Science Impact Challenge, a global fund for researchers advancing scientific discovery using AI. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, announced a major initiative in India to integrate AI across higher education. The programme seeks to help students, faculty, and staff use AI tools responsibly to enhance learning, research, and creativity across disciplines including management, engineering, healthcare and creative arts. AI chip maker NVIDIA announced partnerships with Larsen & Toubro, Yotta Infrastructure, and E2E Networks to establish advanced ‘AI factories’ in India. Man shot dead by friend at feast out over some issue and soon escalated into a heated argument. One of the three A fun afternoon meal turned fatal for a friends took out a pistol and fired at Sou32-year-old youth who was shot dead al- mya before fleeing the area. legedly by one of his friends during a DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo feast in Nuapada Press Colony area un- rushed to the spot and began investigader Madhupatana Police Station limits tion. While the circumstances leading to here on Wednesday . the fight and the subsequent firThe victim, Soumya Ranjan ing remain unclear, police are Jena, was hit between the chest examining all possible angles, and the stomach. He was initialincluding personal rivalry and ly taken to a private hospital by choice of location for the feast, two of his friends before being among other things. referred to the SCB Medical Col“The two friends who were lege and Hospital where he was Soumya Ranjan Jena present at the crime scene have declared dead. been detained and are being inPolice said, Soumya along with three terrogated. We are looking at the cause of his friends had assembled at an aban- behind the fight. The case will be solved doned government quarter at Nuapada soon,” said Dnyandeo. Press Colony for a feast when the inciFriends of Soumya described him as dent took place at about 3.30 pm. a talented cricketer and said he had no Preliminary investigation said, the known enmity with anyone. The incifour friends consumed liquor and were dent has left residents in a state of having a meal. However, a quarrel broke shock. A ra b i n d a Pa n d a @ Cuttack Govt asks Galgotias Univ to vacate booth after robot dog byte R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi THE government has asked Galgotias University, which showcased a Chinesemade robotic dog as its own creation at the India AI Impact Summit, to vacate its booth from the ongoing exhibition. MeitY secretary S Krishnan said the government expects companies to follow a defined code of conduct and will not encourage plagiarism or misinformation. “We don’t want any controversy around the exhibits being presented,” he said. When asked whether the products being showcased were verified or certified, he said these were not meant for sale. “Certification happens when something is meant for public distribution... If we start certifying everything that is exhibited, it could end up stifling innovation and creative work.” The controversy began after a professor from the university claimed in an interview that the AI-powered Chinese robodog was developed by the university’s Centre of Excellence. Following backlash over the false claim, the university issued an apology saying its representative manning the pavilion was “ill-informed”. RS biennial polls Pree t ha Na i r @ New Delhi Riding high on its strong showings in the Maharashtra and Bihar elections, the NDA appears set to make significant gains by winning at least half of the 37 Rajya Sabha seats going to biennial polls on March 16. The INDIA bloc may have to settle for 10, down from 19 seats. Based on its le gislative strength, the NDA is expected to win 15-18, while nine of its MPs are retiring next month. The seats will fall vacant on April 2 and 9 following the retirement of several members, including Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh (JDU), NCP-SP’s Sharad Pawar, for mer Lok Sabha deputy Speaker M Thambidurai (AIADMK), DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, Congress’ Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Union ministers Ram Nath Thakur (JDU) and Ramdas Athawale (RPI-A). The vacancies are spread across Maharashtra (7), Odisha (4), Telangana (2), Tamil Nadu (6), Chhattisgarh (2 seats), West Bengal (5), Assam (3), Haryana (2), Himachal Pradesh (1) and Bihar (5). In Maharashtra, the ruling BJP-led alliance is likely to win six seats while the opposition MVA may get one if they put up a united fight. The Congress, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP-SP are likely to lose one seat each. In Tamil Nadu, the ruling DMK is likely to retain four of the six seats, while the AIADMK is expected to secure one. The remaining seat could see a keen contest. It is a matter of speculation if DMK will agree to the Congress demand for one seat amid strained ties. In Bengal, the ruling TMC is expected to win four seats, and the BJP one. The CPI(M) is expected to lose its sole MP from the state. Five seats will be up for grabs in Bihar, with RJD and JD(U) holding two each and RLM one. The BJP is expected to claim two seats and the RJD is set to lose both its seats. Notifications for the polls will be issued on February 26.